Chapter 298 No comparison, no harm
Erliduo returned to the big tent and looked at the two with a complicated expression, then said calmly: "This joint operation is over. You two have been very busy during this period. Normally, I should hold a banquet to express my gratitude, but the army will return to Zhending soon, so I can only wait until next time to make up for it."

"No, then we will."

Dai Zong wanted to ask what happened in Taiyuan, but thinking that it might be a secret of the Jin army, he swallowed the words back.

"That witch is in charge of Fengyue Pass, and Gongsun Sheng cannot be invited for the time being. You can go back to Weizhou to report first. Oh, and give a message to General Song for me."

"please say."

"There is no such thing as a fool in this world. It will never happen again."

"install?"

As soon as Erlido finished speaking, Dai Zong and Shi Xiu were startled at the same time. They both heard the meaning of knocking in his voice and immediately showed puzzled expressions.

"We are about to move camp. I cannot accompany you any longer. Please leave."

"Uh yes."

Dai Zong hurried back to Cizhou with trepidation. He expected to be teased by Erlido, but he did not expect the other party to be so tolerant and kind. However, after hearing the urgent news from Taiyuan, his attitude changed drastically and he directed his spearhead at Song Jiang.

Dai Zong walked out of the Jin army camp in bewilderment. Looking back at the busy scene of the troops in the camp, he couldn't help but mutter to himself: "What happened in Taiyuan? It made the calm Erliduo lose his composure."

"Puluhu was defeated first on the western front. The central and eastern fronts will either be defeated or retreat. Without the three armies from Taiyuan to contain them, it will be meaningless even if we take down Fengyue Pass. If I were Erlido, I would also retreat."

“It’s a pity he didn’t inform us.”

"How dare you share such a shameful thing with us? Besides, the general didn't send troops to Zezhou, and he feels resentful."

During his stay in Wenshui, Shi Xiu had some understanding of the Pucha Shi Jianu and Yelu Yudu armies, and he believed that they were no match for Yang Chang, so it is not difficult to guess the reason.

Dai Zong agreed with what he heard, and immediately took out a pair of magical vests, handed them to Shi Xiu and said, "Since the matter here is over, they don't want to stay any longer, let's go back and report."

Shi Xiu took the vest but did not tie it. Instead, he stared at Dai Zong and asked solemnly, "Brother, are we going back empty-handed?"

"What else? Go into the city and buy some local products?"

"Haha, brother is really honest. Erliduo avoided talking about Taiyuan. We should understand clearly. I believe the commander is also looking forward to it."

"If Erlido doesn't tell, the other generals won't tell either. Besides, the Jin army is about to march."

Seeing that Dai Zong didn't understand, Shi Xiu immediately whispered in his ear, and Dai Zong listened like a chick pecking at rice.

The two men tied up their armored horses and moved quickly. However, they only went south for more than ten miles when they suddenly bypassed Wu'an and went to Zhending from a secluded road.

Since Erlido was unwilling to share information, Shi Xiu encouraged Dai Zong to go to Chenchen to investigate before returning. After all, with Dai Zong's magical power of speed, it would not be too difficult to make a trip to Taiyuan.

The two men originally thought that they would be delayed for five or six days, but they easily obtained the information they wanted in Pingding, and almost ran into the Jin army on their way south from Jingxing.

In mid-April, Dai Zong and Shi Xiu returned to Huaizhou and informed Yang Chang that they had captured Taiyuan, and conveyed Erlido's warning.

Song Jiang was in the room at the time, but a line of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He was stunned for a long time before wiping it with a handkerchief, while muttering: "The Jin army fought for Taiyuan for nine months, but it took only half a month for Yang to take it down. This guy is not simple, not simple."

"Yang Chang has indeed grown up, but he has experience with Lu Junyi in attacking Taiyuan. He is especially good at throwing cannonballs, which is enough to deter sieges. However, everything has its good and bad sides. Taiyuan Prefecture is a hot potato. It may be a burden for him to take it down now, so there is no need to be too nervous."

Wu Shou held the feather fan and shook it gently, as if Zhuge Liang was making the Longzhong Strategy to Liu Bei, and his confident smile showed that he was fully prepared.

He called himself Mr. Jialiang, meaning that his wisdom surpassed that of Zhuge Liang. He dressed like in the painting, which was appreciated by everyone in Liangshan.

Song Jiang didn't understand for a moment, and then frowned and asked: "Why is Taiyuan such a hot potato? Military Advisor, can you explain it more clearly?"

"Taiwei, please look."

Wu Yong walked to the hanging map, pointed at Taiyuan and said solemnly: "Taiyuan Prefecture covers an area of ​​land, and the surrounding areas are all controlled by the Jin army. How many troops will Yang Chang need to deploy to defend this place? He and the Jin people are already fighting to the death. The Jin army can attack from four directions this time, and next time they can attack from eight directions."

"That makes sense. It's like a small horse pulling a big cart. It will eventually die of exhaustion. However, Yang Chang is extremely cunning. If we win, we should withdraw from Taiyuan and relocate the local people."

Song Jiang stopped talking abruptly at the end.

Although he was ruthless to Yang Chang in words, he secretly reviewed Yang Chang's performance from the time he worked in Yanggu to when he went to Liangshan, and concluded that Yang Chang was bold but practical, that is, he never did business that would lose money.

When we gathered at Liangshan before, we attacked Gaotangzhou, Qingzhou, Damingfu and other places, but after the victory we did not occupy the city, but only took away the money and food in the treasury. The reason was that we could not defend it.

Yang Chang is cunning and intelligent, does he think so too?

Seeing Song Jiang frowning in thought, Wu Yong came up to him and whispered, "Instead of making groundless guesses here, why not send someone to find out the truth? I think Your Majesty would like to know, too."

"Hmm? Lin Chong guards against us like he guards against thieves, sending spies in and getting them out?"

"hehe."

Wu Yong placed the feather fan on the table and said meaningfully, "If the spying fails, we can act openly. The Taiwei can write a memorial about the Taiyuan intelligence and suggest that Your Majesty send an envoy to congratulate him on the recovery of the lost territory. Then we can legitimately send someone to accompany him. At that time, we can say a few more flattering words and maybe let Yang Chang ride on the tiger's back."

"It makes sense."

Song Jiang agreed with this and spread out the rice paper, ready to write. But after a moment's thought, he suddenly put it down and said with a worried look on his face, "I'll think about it first, and it won't be too late to write later. By the way, from Erliduo's tone, he seems to be very dissatisfied with me. Will he take it out on us? Hua Rong only has 5,000 soldiers.
"That shouldn't be the case, right?" Dai Zong was stunned at first, then added: "The Jin army in Cizhou has almost withdrawn, and Brother Shi Xiu has seen it with his own eyes."

"What Commander Dai said is correct. We passed Wu'an on our way back, and there were probably only three to five thousand people."

As soon as Shi Xiu finished speaking, Song Jiang could not help but mutter to himself: "Even tens of thousands of people in Yangqu could not be stopped? Cizhou actually only had 3,000 to 5,000 people left? Isn't Erliduo afraid of Yang Chang's counterattack?"

"Cizhou is adjacent to Taihang Mountain in the west, and there are no barriers on the other three sides. If Yang Chang sends troops to capture this place, it would be equivalent to capturing Taiyuan again. The defense burden is too heavy."

"Cizhou only has three important towns: Wu'an, Handan, and Fuyang. Even if we can't defend it, we can retreat to Luzhou. I suspect Erlido has other intentions."

Song Jiang had a different opinion from Wu Yong. He believed that the Jin army withdrew all its main forces to Zhending in order to let his own imperial army confront Yang Chang.

As the Recruiting Envoy of Ze, Huai, Wei and Xiang states, Song Jiang had to be neighbors with Yang Chang while strengthening his military and waiting for the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

During this period, Dai Zong was like an online taxi driver, taking orders and running around seamlessly. He did not take a good rest after returning to Huaizhou, and went to Yingtian with a memorial the next day.

Song Jiang defeated Fan Zhixu's troops, won the battle against Zhao Huan's Western Court, and formed a pincer attack on Kaifeng Prefecture. Zhao Gou was discussing rewards with his ministers at the time, but the second-rank Taiwei was the highest military rank, so he proposed to promote the highest civil official rank, that is, the first-rank Kaifu Yitong Sansi, just like Zhao Huan rewarded Yang Chang, but was dissuaded by Huang Qianshan and other court officials.

When Dai Zong brought Song Jiang's memorial to Yingtian, the news that the Jin army had lost Taiyuan reached the Eastern Court, and all the civil and military officials in the court were shocked.

Yang Chang had defeated the Jin army before, and this group of people could still deceive themselves and use the excuse of not going out to defend as a comfort. But now Yang Chang took the initiative to attack and recaptured Taiyuan in a short time, while the Jin army took nine months to capture Taiyuan.

Comparing the two, a judgment is made.

While everyone was shocked, Zhao Gou made a domineering decision to promote Song Jiang to the rank of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, on the grounds that Yang Chang could check and balance the Jin people, and Song Jiang could check and balance Yang Chang, and he had just won a great victory and must be rewarded.

Of course, Zhao Gou did not discuss with his ministers the secret decree that Song Jiang suggested sending an envoy.

Now that he had gradually secured the throne, he naturally did not want to be a puppet emperor of the Jin people. And now with Yang Changbang to check and balance him, he had one less worry and could concentrate on competing with Zhao Huan for the legitimacy.

Poor Dai Zong had been busy for a long time. He only reunited with his family for half a day the next day, and set off again with Song Qing the next day.

Song Jiang had the merit of supporting Zhao Gou to the throne, and all his brothers were promoted to high positions. Each of them was given a mansion in the capital, and those without families were granted marriages by the court. They all held a collective wedding at the end of last year. On the surface, everyone was given a title for his wife and children, but in reality, they were put in shackles and their families were left behind as "hostages."

Of course, beauties are a scarce resource in any era, and Zhao Gou's Eastern Court was just established, and he was short of women in his own harem, so the women chosen by the court for marriage were naturally not of high quality.

Most of the unmarried brothers under Song Jiang were ugly and ferocious, such as Yang Zhi, Tang Long, Bai Sheng and others. Most official women were unwilling to marry them unless they had physical defects or were too ugly.

On April 13, Song Qing arrived in Huaizhou first with the imperial edict.

Song Jiang and Wu Yong first gave him instructions in person, and then sent Yang Zhi and Suo Chao to lead a hundred cavalrymen for protection, and then entered Zezhou from Taihang Pass.

Song Qing used congratulations as an excuse, but in reality he was responsible for flattering Yang Chang, hoping that he would defend Taiyuan for the Han people. Secondly, he wanted to find out the current strength of Yang Chang's troops, and also confirm the identity of Xiaolongnu and whether Fan Rui was captured by her.

However, Shi Xiu had been exposed in Wenshui, and Song Jiang was worried that Yang Chang would make trouble and detain people, so he deliberately recommended his brother Song Qing as the envoy, considering that he had a friendship with Yang Chang.

As for sending Yang Zhi and Suo Chao to accompany the army, it was mainly to find out the strength of Yang Chang's troops and the layout of various military facilities along the way. This required the presence of a general who was familiar with military affairs and had a friendship with the generals under Yang Chang's command. Therefore, Yang Zhi, who was born in Erlong Mountain, became the only choice to be the general accompanying the army.

Although Yang Zhi withstood the test and did not follow Liu Tang when he ran away, Song Jiang was still unwilling to gamble on human nature.

Yang Chang’s surname is Yang, and Yang Zhi’s surname is also Yang, so maybe they rebelled?

The rest of the generals were either his trusted aides, or had grievances or good feelings towards Yang Chang. Only Suo Chao, who was on par with Yang Zhi, was left to act as his eyes and supervise his peers.

The group crossed Taihang Pass and arrived at Tianjing Pass in the north two days later.

Since someone was sent to deliver the visiting card in advance, Lin Chong got the news and was waiting there in advance, which surprised Song Qing, Yang Zhi and Suo Chao.

After exchanging greetings with them, Lin Chong did not follow the normal procedure to settle and receive them in Jincheng, but instead took the delegation directly north in a hurry. This move made Yang Zhi and Suo Chao nervous.

Although Lin Chong was only accompanied by a hundred or so riders, Zezhou was his territory after all, so sending more troops was as easy as having a meal.

Yang Zhi caught up with Lin Chong under great pressure and asked him about it. Lin Chong told him that they came at a very coincidental time. Wu Song would get married and hold a wedding in a few days, so the delegation should hurry on the way so that they could catch up with the wedding.

Will Wu Song also get married?

I remember that when he was a bandit in Erlong Mountain, Wu Song once said that he had no interest in women and just wanted to live like Lu Zhishen, a monk who took pleasure in avenging his enemies.

It turns out that people can change?
Yang Zhi went to Gaoping with doubts in his heart, and the Flower Monk Lu Zhishen was already waiting there.

At this time, Song Jiang stationed troops in Huaizhou and Weizhou, and was eyeing Zezhou in the north. Lin Chong had no intention of sending the soldiers of Zezhou to show his support, but after learning that Zhao Gou had sent an envoy to pay a visit, he temporarily let Lu Zhishen serve as the representative of Luzhou.

There were only five days left until the wedding, and in order to make it in time for the wedding banquet, Lu Zhishen took Song Qing and others on a non-stop journey day and night. It was almost dusk when they left Gaoping, so they had to pass half of the way to Zezhou in the dark and naturally could not see the so-called military facilities.

Yang Zhi once thought that his plot had been exposed, and Lin Chong deliberately made up an excuse to deal with it. It was not until they stopped to rest in the northeast of Zezhou that Lu Zhishen took the initiative to bring up the topic.

"Why don't you come?"

"what?"

Song Qing and Suo Chao were right next to them at the time. Lu Zhishen spoke without any scruples and in a very loud voice, which stunned Yang Zhi so much that he dared not reply, and then pretended not to hear clearly.

Lu Zhishen went straight to the point and continued, "Song Jiang is a villain, Zhao Gou is a usurper, you are a descendant of the Yang family, why do you hang out with them? Aren't you afraid of humiliating your ancestors? Why don't you follow General Yang to kill the Jin people? If you feel that no one can recommend you, I can be your guarantor."

"Uh"

Yang Zhi's scalp tingled when he heard this, thinking to himself, "Master, please don't mess with me." Then he responded awkwardly, "Master, you are wrong. General Song treats me well. Your Majesty inherited the throne by order of the Emperor Retired, which is completely reasonable and legal...."

"It's not legal at all." Lu Zhishen interrupted and shouted, "The emperor is in the hands of the Jin people, how can the imperial edict be taken seriously?"

"We are just subjects, how can we question?"

Yang Zhi shook his head and smiled bitterly, then changed the subject and asked, "Is Wu Dutou really getting married? Isn't he not interested in women? Why did he change his mind now?"

"Wu Er originally did not receive the precepts, and the golden seal on his face has been removed. It is normal for him to change his mind now. Besides, Yang Taiwei persuaded him."

"Right."

After listening to Lu Zhishen's explanation, the three of them also felt that Wu Song should get married and have children.

Combined with last year's experience of concentrated marriages, everyone thought that Wu Song married an ordinary woman.

After all, most of the officials in the prefectures and counties under Yang Changzhi were selected from the army or local minor officials. The original high-ranking officials fled for fear of the Jin army. Wu Song had no place to find a good background, and at most he was an ordinary person with some good looks.

However, when they arrived at Yangqu, Taiyuan, everyone was stunned when they heard the singing of the children in the city. It turned out that Wu Song married the princess?
Without comparison, there is no harm.

Wu Song marrying the princess was like a brother driving a Land Rover, which hurt many brothers. The first victim was Yang Zhi, the Green-faced Beast.

Yang Zhi was a descendant of the Yang family. He married a virgin girl who was a good match for him. Unfortunately, the girl was not only fat, but also had a big face that blocked out the sun. Her facial features were so different that even the Green-faced Beast couldn't eat her.

Suo Chao had drunk Yang Zhi's wedding wine, and seeing his gloomy expression, he stepped forward and whispered to comfort him: "Brother, don't think too much, these nursery rhymes may not be true. Unmarried princesses all live in Tokyo. Even if she is a real princess, she must have some bad flaws."

"Reasonable."

(End of this chapter)